Watching This 200 Ton Friction Welding Machine in Action is Mesmerizing!

We’ve seen friction welding before, but this is a great close up look at the process again, from start to end, including our first look at the finishing process.

Friction welding is used to join two individual metal components using rotational friction to heat the metal on both components to their melting point, then applying massive forces – in this case, a whopping 200 tons – to fuse the metals as they cool. The process is more consistent than traditional welding methods and allows the process to be programmed into an automated machine such as this one instead of having a welder or team of welders on staff to knock out these jobs.

Take a look at the last few moments of the process, where a cutter cleans up the joint and you can see how clean the union of the components is. This is truly a cool process to watch!